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The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
Using DIIGO: Why Johnne and Janee Will eResearch
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Maureen Paparella
Eugene Simko
Guillermo Santamaria
Overview
The DIIGO software permits users to bookmark and manage references acquired through
the Web. Users may highlight, annotate, and comment on source data and then store
such data to a remote server in a file called “My Library” on the Web. Users may share
their library with accepted users in groups, and search saved articles and user input by
tags or by keywords in annotations. Without risk of losing data from a dynamically
changing website, DIIGO users may cache (snapshot) the site, so that when the user
returns to the DIIGO file, the site will look exactly as it did when conducting the
research.
TO HIGHER EDUCATION, the use of DIIGO in the classroom has often been referred
to as revolutionary to pedagogy because DIIGO permits students to add to the content
of the course material. While course management software (eCampus) allows
instructors to upload content, the top-down approach does not permit students to
contribute directly. DIIGO allows students to be truly engaged learners as they make
direct contributions to the class group.
DIIGO software is most commonly known as part of a second generation of the Web,
which marketers often refer to as Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is distinguished from Web 1.0, the
informational Web, or the first generation of the Web. Web 2.0 is also referred to as
“cloud computing,” since the user’s library of sources is saved on a remote server, or “in
the cloud.” Because the bookmarks, tags, annotations, and comments are saved to a
remote server on the Web, as opposed to a local save when using Internet Explorer’s
bookmark feature, DIIGO users may access their library ubiquitously, from anywhere at
any time, as long as they have access to the Internet.
Web 2.0 is also known for its “open source” platform. Open source means that the code
used to create the software is open to be viewed by programmers. Open source software
allows users to use the software at no cost and view the source code (the program
instructions) and modify the source code for organizations that may desire to customize it
to satisfy their own particular needs. Examples of popular open source software
packages include OpenOffice, productivity software which is completely compatible to
Microsoft Office (although its spreadsheet program is not as sophisticated and not
recommended to replace Excel for business users), and Linux, which is derived from
Unix, a very powerful operating system, and Moodle, an intranet/extranet system used for
course management (eCampus). These programs are now used in many school districts
across the country and save millions of dollars in the administration of programs in
education. While DIIGO, Spacetime3D, the Google search engine, Google Apps, and
other such applications are in beta (still a subject of trial within the environment for
which they were designed, after the debugging stage of alpha), like open source software,
they are free of charge for use by Internet users.
In the second generation of the Web, users become the senses of the Web; that is, they
become the contributors of the exponential growth of the vast body of data on the Web.
(At approximately 5000 days old, the networks of the Web appeared to simulate the set of
neuron networks in the human brain. If we refer to the Web today as one Human Brain
or I HB, Kevin Kelly, author and editor of Wired Magazine, suggests that according to
Moore’s Law, 30 years from now, the Web will be 6 billion HB).
As DIIGO users create tags for their references, they contribute to keywords used to
determine results attained by researchers using the Web, both now and in the future.
Thus, DIIGO software is also considered to be part of a third generation of the Web,
referred to as the Semantic Web or Web 3.0, illustrated by the use of tags typed in by
the user at the time a website is bookmarked.
During this fall semester, DIIGO was upgraded to 4.0, meaning there have been 4 major
upgrades to the software since its inception (the number 4 is the version number,
indicating a major upgrade; the number 0 is a release number, representing a minor
enhancement).
Best Practices
1. Engage your students: During the first class session, ask students to create a
DIIGO account at Diigo.com. If students have already completed the IT 100
course, they should already have opened a DIIGO account and will be familiar
with the software. Remind students, especially transfer students who have not
taken the IT 100 course, that in the on-campus labs, they should use the Mozilla
Firefox browser to download the DIIGO toolbar. It is not possible to download
the DIIGO toolbar in Internet Explorer in the labs on campus. Any student or
faculty member who needs assistance may attend one of the IT Tutoring Labs,
which are open without an appointment during two scheduled days each week
during the fall and spring semesters. The schedule may be found at
www.monmouth.edu/infotech.
2. Engage your students: Explain to students that throughout the semester, they
should expect to be assigned individual assignments, in addition to group
assignments. For example, you may begin by assigning the task of creating a
group account for the class to a student. Ask the designated student to assign
you, the instructor, as the moderator. If the student indicates a lack of confidence
in his or her ability to create the group, again mention the availability of the IT
Tutoring Lab.
3. Engage your students: During lectures, continuously assign research to selected
students. For example, during a lesson on intellectual property, I referred to the
movie, “Flash of Genius.” I selected a student from the class roster to provide a
movie review and another student to search for information about Robert Kearns
and his struggle with Ford Motor Company. The students were asked to provide
4.
5.
6.
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at least two sources. I reminded the students to highlight the material that pertains
to our class discussion on intellectual property. I requested that they tag the
material both “intellectual property” and “patent.” I asked them to begin their
research by using the multi-subject electronic databases from our library. Then I
asked all students to read the material before the next class session and add
annotations from the lecture and the textbook, where applicable.
Engage your students: Set goals for student research activity and input. Consider
requesting at least three students to research a topic during each and every class
session. Students engaged in research often will begin to enjoy it and feel
comfortable with it. No matter the discipline – math, science, history, education,
technology – the topics of each class session can include topics for research and
collaboration.
Engage your students: When notifying students of an upcoming exam, remind
students to review their DIIGO group account material. Specify the tag they
should use to search for the specific material assessed.
Engage your students: Specifically ask students to use the electronic databases
accessed through our library website to locate sources. For example, you may, on
occasion, request that students use the multi-subject online databases of ProQuest
and EBSCOhost. Remind students to edit the name of the article when using
electronic sources from the library, since most often, the name of the article will
not appear in the file, as it does from other sites. Remind students that when
using ProQuest, for example, “full text” responds to HTML documents that will
permit highlighting and annotations. However, if the only alternative is PDF, ask
students to use the article anyway. Although the ability to highlight and annotate
are highly productive, they are not absolutely necessary. On occasion, ask that
students provide their research only from a scholarly journal.
Reward your students: A complaint of many students is that when the semester
ends, they abruptly lose access to the content in eCampus. Keep your DIIGO
group accounts open for a few years, enabling your students to refer to the
material long after the course has ended. This will provide the added benefit of
assisting us in remaining connected to alumni on an intellectual level, which will
serve to keep them connected at every level.
Conclusion
Dr. Judy Harris of the Online Internet Learning Process writes:
“We all begin on the Web by “telegathering” (surfing) and “telehunting” (searching). This
we can do pretty well…). We need to help our students and ourselves “teleharvest” (sift
through, cogitate, comprehend, etc.) the information that we find, and “telepackage” the
knowledge that results from active interaction (application, synthesis, evaluation, etc.)
with the information. Then, we need to “teleplant” (telepublish, telecollaborate, etc.)
these telepackages by sharing them with others…who use them as information…”
Are your students making the shift from surfing and searching to comprehending,
synthesizing and collaborating?